Best clothes for girls
Seagreen
Monkstown Village and 45 Ranelagh Village, Dublin 6
seagreen.ie
These days, it's not as easy to find niche fashion labels in Dublin as it might once have been. In some ways that's okay, because the internet can put everything at our fingertips, and a new crop of consignment stores in the city centre offer pre-loved designer wares at reasonable prices. But there's something about a well-stocked neighbourhood boutique that still draws us in. Seagreen, with branches in Ranelagh and the original in Monkstown, is a local favourite for a browse. With Irish labels alongside the likes of Victoria Beckham and By Malene Birger, Seagreen is the kind of place you go into looking for a gift, but leave with something for yourself, too.
Honourable mentions: Arnotts, Bow, Havana, Beaux Bows, Project 51 AK
Best clothes for boys
Indigo & Cloth
9 Essex St. East, Dublin 2
indigoandcloth.com
There's just simply no competition for Indigo & Cloth, the boutique-cum-agency helmed by Garrett Pitcher that's single-handedly keeping Irish men well-dressed. Stocking a small but carefully-chosen set of brands, their bright new headquarters in Temple Bar is the only place in Ireland to buy Norse Projects, Oliver Spencer and Our Legacy.
Honourable mentions: Arnotts, Size?, Brown Thomas DG
Best jewellery
Rhinestones
18 St Andrew's Street, Dublin 2
Founded by two Kilkenny sisters Catherine and Bernadette Butler, Rhinestones is a haunt for vintage costume jewellery collectors and people just looking for unusual gifts.
From Victorian to Art Deco up to the 1950s and 1960s, the jewellery is sourced from all over Europe and the US.A quirky, unpredictable shop, great for browsing , with prices starting from €10 and going up to €3,000.
Honourable mentions: John Farrington, Loulouerie, Djinn DMcQ
Best tweed
Kevin & Howlin
31 Nassau Street, Dublin 2
kevinandhowlin.com
The only shop specialising in handwoven Donegal tweeds in Dublin, the business was founded in 1936 by the present owner Noel Kevin's father Jim. A great place to find tweed jackets and coats for both men and women, with a range of caps such as th e Great Gatsby, the Sherlock Holmes, the Quiet Man as w ell as standard flat caps, scarves, coats and waistcoats.
Honourable mentions: Harlequin, Cleo, Malahide Menswear
Best shoes
Brown Thomas
88-95 Grafton Street, Dublin 2
brownthomas.com
It might be at the upper end of our budget, but the Brown Thomas shoe department is unbeatable for range, excellency of service and wow factor. With covetable labels from Miu Miu to Jimmy Choo, the department includes a red-carpeted Christian Louboutin
micro-boutique. Nothing screams glamour quite like it.
Honourable mentions: Arnott's Shoe Garden, Size?, China Blue
Best watches
Dawson Jewellers
21 Dawson Street, Dublin 2
dawsonjewellers.ie
A family run business for more than 30 years, Dawson Jewellers are specialists in high end watches carrying an extensive stock of brands such as Patek Philippe, Breitling, Tag Heuer, Cartier, Rolex and Omega. They are also specialists in repairs, servicing, refurbishment and strap replacements of these brands as well as the restoration of luxury wrist watches, vintage and pocket watches.
Honourable mentions: Corrs, Timepiece DMcQ
Best fabrics
A Rubanesque
Powerscourt Centre, South William Street, Dublin 2
arubanesque.ie
Alexa O Byrne, a textile graduate of NCAD took over trimmings shop LM Ruban five years ago and relocated it to the Powerscourt Centre making this a one stop shop for all sorts of trimmings and ribbons, a dashing haberdashery so to speak. It's the place to find unusual wrapping paper, buttons of all kinds, ribbons from satin to grosgrain and lace – too varied to mention – and other transformative items for decoration and wrapping and making even the most modest gifts look ultra special.
Honourable mentions: Murphy Sheehy, The Cloth Shop DMcQ
Best vintage
The 3rd Policeman
121 Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin 6,
the3rdpoliceman.com
Vintage shopping in Dublin can be a tricky pursuit, but the stretch of road from the Swan Centre in Rathmines to the end of South Great Georges Street is best for an afternoon's trawling through the bins.The 3rd Policeman, at the Rathmines end, is a well-stocked treasure trove of everything a fashionable vintage fan could dream of. An hour's rummage could turn up 1950s cameras, Art Deco lamps, Hermés-esque scarves or a military parka, and all at more affordable prices than you might expect. [CF413]
Honourable mentions : Revolver Project, Jenny Vander, Tahiti, Fluorescent
Elephant, The Car Boot Shop AK
Best glasses
Molloy & Dowling
18b Kildare Street
molloyanddowling.com "Dispensing Opticians & Purveyors of Marvelous Stuff" reads the sign for this cozy little specs shop, which carries a range of rehabilitated frames which could be anything from six weeks' or sixty years' old. This friendly pair of four-eyes guys are even up for a bit of bartering.
Honourable mentions: Optica, Berlin Opticians, Donal McNally Opticians, Dixon Hempenstall DG
